


Five Times Lea Proposed and One Time He Didn't

by Magistra



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: 5 Times, 5+1 Things, Developing Relationship, Drabble Sequence, Emotional Baggage, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Rejection, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-02 05:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20270554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magistra/pseuds/Magistra
Summary: Lea looked into Isa’s green eyes with a mock-serious expression. “Isa… Will you marry me?”The other boy also feigned a serious face, though his eyes were laughing. “Hmm… Nah. You're too stupid.”A series of drabbles centered around rejected proposals and how Lea and Isa's relationship has changed over time, starting from when they were teenagers and leading up through their adulthood.





	1. As Teenagers

Lea placed the last flask on the drying rack. He rubbed his hands down his white lab coat and sighed, happy to be done for the day. Washing the glassware had been his last task. He was free to go home now, if he wanted to. He took off the white coat and hung it on a peg near the lab door before heading to the room near the castle entrance where he and Isa would meet before walking home together. The room itself was large, with a white grand piano that the boys occasionally tried to pick out tunes on. It was decorated with tapestries of flowers and hanging blue and gold silks, and it had a very comfortable couch near a large window. Lea kicked his shoes off and flumped onto the couch, looking through the window at the sheet of rain coming down outside, crashing against the cobbles of the castle courtyard.

It was a rainy August. July had been beautifully hot and clear, which had made Lea regret agreeing to spend his sixteenth summer in the Radiant Garden Castle, running errands for researchers. He would have given anything to be at the beach or even just hanging around the town square with Isa, happily wasting time together. But now the rains had come, he didn’t mind being indoors as much. The castle was ancient and huge, and it was easy to find quiet rooms around it. Besides, if they hadn’t decided to give up their summer to get some work experience while secretly being heroes, would he and Isa have ever gotten this close? Would they have had their first kiss two weeks before, while Isa was comforting Lea after Even yelled at him for the billionth time? Lea didn’t think so. There was something about having a secret together, a shared goal, that had made that summer special even before they had begun kissing. Now, of course, the summer had become special in an entirely different way.

Lea had fancied Isa for three years now. When they had first met, he had gone out of his way to impress the boy. At first, it had seemed like no amount of frisbee tricks or jokes would get through to Isa; every time Lea tried to show Isa something new, Isa had seemed completely unimpressed or responded with sarcasm. However, as the months went by, the blue-haired boy had warmed up. One day, Isa had interrupted one of Lea’s long, not-so-funny stories, asking him to wait. Isa had run off and returned with two bars of blue ice cream. “Here,” he said, thrusting one into Lea’s hands. “Don’t drop it on yourself.”

“Hey, thanks!” Lea had taken the ice cream, licking it eagerly as Isa watched. His mouth full of a delicious sweet-and-salty flavour, he had asked, “You’ve never bought me ice cream before. Does this mean we’re friends now?”

Isa had smiled at Lea, the first smile of many. “I thought we were already friends,” he had replied.

Three years later, the rain poured down. Lea lay back on the sofa and closed his eyes, listening to the sound. He was just starting think he might fall asleep when he heard the door open and close. He kept his eyes shut, trying not to smile. Sure enough, he felt someone’s presence next to him. A hand gently rested on his chest. He felt the person’s breath just a moment before a pair of soft lips pressed against his own. He reached out, wrapping his arms around the person and pulling him onto the couch too. As they kissed, Lea opened his eyes. A pair of striking green eyes looked into his own for a moment before closing as their kiss deepened. _Isa_.

The boys kissed for a few minutes in silence, before Isa pulled away, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “Shall we get going?” he said. “Looks like we’ll get drenched if we go now, though. What do you want to do?”

Lea felt warm, and a little sleepy. He looked up at Isa and waggled his eyebrows, a silly grin stretched across his face. “Adult stuff,” he said.

Isa felt his cheeks warm up. He glanced at the unlocked door and then back at Lea. "Fucking perv,” he said, whacking Lea's shoulder.

“You’re the perv,” said Lea, pulling him back down, hugging him close. “I meant things like… doing taxes. Buying insurance. Getting married.” He looked into Isa’s eyes with a mock-serious expression. “Isa… Will you marry me?”

Isa also feigned a serious face, though his eyes were smiling. “Hmm… Nah.” He pinned down one of Lea’s arms and began to tickle him viciously.

Lea squirmed, giggling and gasping for air, unable to escape from under Isa. “Why not?” he wheezed. “I’ll take care of you. I’ll do your… taxes…”

“Who would marry you, stupid?" laughed Isa. He stopped tickling, watching Lea pant as he caught his breath too.

Lea hoisted himself up on his elbows and Isa leaned down to kiss him once more. As Isa pulled away again, Lea looked out of the window. “The rain’s let up a bit,” he said.

Isa nodded. “Let’s go.” He stood up from where he had been straddling Lea and straightened out his jacket. The door to the room shut softly behind them as they left. Hand in hand, the boys walked out of the castle and into the rain. It would be the last time they left it as Somebodies.


	2. As Nobodies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Marriage would serve no purpose," Saïx said. His voice was flat, empty.
> 
> Axel's face fell. "I was joking," he said.

Axel’s room was stark white, like every room in the World the Never Was. Piping jutted out of the wall seemingly randomly, and a large window parallel to his bed provided a view onto the dark abyss of the sky. There were just a few hints of colour in the room: a blue box of tissues, poking out from under the bed. An empty condom wrapper. A calendar with red numbers tacked to the wall. The red and blue of Axel and Saïx’s hair as they lay together, panting.

After a few minutes, Saïx slid off the bed, grabbing the box of tissues and turning away from Axel as he cleaned himself up and pulled his pants back on. Axel watched him from where he lay, reclining. Even straight after sex, Saïx’s really was all-business, he thought. He wondered how long it had been since he had last seen the man smile. “You know what day it is today?” he asked, breaking the silence.

Saïx flicked his golden eyes towards Axel for a moment before focusing back on the button of his trousers. “No.”

“It’s been eight years since we became Nobodies.”

Axel wasn’t sure how Saïx would respond. Saïx was quiet for a moment, then he turned back and sat on the edge of Axel’s bed. “Really now,” he said. “You still keep track of such things?”

“Well, yeah,” said Axel, defensive. “It was an important day. The day our purpose changed, right?” He sat up and scooted closer to Saïx, kissing him on the cheek as he took the box of tissues from him. “Keeping track of things like that helps me remember what we’re doing this for.”

Saïx didn’t react to the kiss. “Your sentimentality is to your detriment, Axel,” he said.

“Oh yeah?” Axel turned Saïx’s face to look at his. “Well, your attitude is to yours. Can’t you relax for a sec?”

“We have spent the past hour and a half ‘relaxing’ together,” Saïx replied.

Axel smirked. “That’s not the same, and you know it. Come on, I’m just asking for two minutes. Five minutes, tops. Let’s cuddle or something.”

Axel expected to be rejected outright, but to his surprise, Saïx responded with, “Fine.” 

He made no move to initiate, so Axel pulled him down, resting Saïx’s head on his lap. He dragged his fingers through the man’s long blue hair, gently untangling any knots that had formed during their previous activities. He noticed that Saïx had closed his eyes. “Feels good?” he asked.

“It is pleasurable,” Saïx admitted.

Axel paused for a moment. He sighed. “Even if we can’t have real emotions, bodies still like being touched, right?” He finished untangling Saïx’s hair, combing through it once last time and marvelling at how smoothly it slipped through his fingers. The feeling brought up memories: The heat of summer. The splashing of the fountain behind him. Hair between his fingers, shorter but still just as silky. Isa's head resting in his lap, his face smiling. Looking at Saïx now, Axel could see Isa in the shape of his nose, the curve of his lips, the path of his brows. It was getting harder to see those things as the years went by and adulthood repainted their faces, but as long as Saïx kept his eyes closed… "Hey," Axel murmured. "You know it's also been more than eight years since we began our plans together. Sure, they've changed a lot, but we're both still here working together."

Saïx's expression didn't change. "Yes," he said. "It has also been more than eight years since we first kissed."

Axel's eyes widened. He grinned. "Now look who's being sentimental?" he said, ruffling Saïx's hair. 

"It is not sentimental," Saïx said, frowning and waving away Axel's hand. "It is a fact."

Axel snorted. "Sure, whatever. Still weird to think that there are marriages out there that have lasted less time than our… uh, _ partnership,_ I guess." A thought occurred to him that made him smile with amusement. "Hey, Saïx," he said. "How about we get married, huh? We'd have the first Nobody wedding ever."

At the sound of his name, Saïx's eyes opened. He sat up, fixing Axel with a cold, golden stare. "It would serve no purpose," he said. His voice was flat, empty. "We have no shared commitments that could be improved by such an action, and neither of us can provide the emotional component marriage traditionally requires."

Axel's face fell. "I was joking," he said. 

"I know." Saïx stood up, continuing to talk as he picked up his coat and zipped it on. "I also know that your jokes are a way of testing people, and I know that most of your more ridiculous, stubborn ideas began as jokes." 

"You know me too well," said Axel, his voice grim. He lay back down, staring up at the ceiling. "Well, see you tomorrow morning, I guess. Unless you have any special instructions for me?" 

"Not tonight," said Saïx. He paused at the door. "See you, Axel."

"See you, Saïx." 

The blue-haired Nobody left, and Axel pulled the bed covers over his body. He closed his eyes and hoped that he wouldn't dream of Isa. 


	3. While Moving In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the redhead spoke, his voice carried a note of embarrassment. “Eh, It was a stupid joke. Don’t worry about it.”  
“That did not sound like a joke, Lea.”  
“It was,” Lea insisted. He paused. “Although… We’ve got a stable future now, right? I'm just saying, we could do it. We could get married.”

The house in Twilight Town smelled of fresh paint and sawdust. The walls were bare and the rooms were mostly empty, with only a few mismatched, second-hand pieces of furniture showing that anyone lived there. Though it didn’t feel like a home yet, Lea couldn’t help thinking that it smelled of new beginnings, of potential, and of lifelong goals finally achieved. He pushed open the door to the kitchen and walked in, careful to not bump his box of plates and cups on the wall as he did so.

As he stepped into the room, Isa looked up from the flatpack table he was halfway through putting together. He nodded at Lea in greeting before turning back to the instruction booklet he had been studying.

Lea’s face broke into a grin; it had now been over two months since the seven Guardians of Light had defeated Xehanort and Isa had been recompleted. Sure, Isa hadn’t adjusted to being a Somebody as quickly as Lea had. Lea could tell that his partner was struggling more than he let on. Still, every time Lea saw Isa, it was like a dream come true. He put the box down on a counter and leaned on it, watching as Isa located a wooden leg and began to screw it into the top of the table. “How’s that going?” he asked.

“Well,” said Isa. He motioned towards a shorter plank of wood just out of his reach. “Pass me the cross-piece.”

Lea passed him the piece, then picked up the instruction booklet, looking over the work Isa had done. “You’re really good at these, huh?” he said.

“They are meant to be extremely simple,” said Isa. “The instructions are illustrated. If I had known, I would have left this task for Xion and Roxas.”

Lea closed the booklet and placed it on top of the box of kitchenware. “Why don’t you take a break, then? They can finish it when they get home from school?”

Isa looked up at Lea again. “Asking me to leave something half-done?” he said. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards into a half-smile. “Funny.”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Lea laughed, moving to kneel next to Isa. He leaned close, looking into Isa's green eyes. “But you could take a break, y’know. I’d like that. C’mon, let me be a bad influence on you.” He kissed Isa, sliding the piece of wood out of his hands as he did so.

As Lea pulled away, Isa murmured, “Fine. I will take a break.”

Lea took Isa’s hand and stood up, leading Isa out of the kitchen and into the living room. The two of them settled onto the red leather couch they had bought the previous day. At first, Isa just sat on it as if he were to watch the TV, but Lea lounged with his legs along the couch and coaxed Isa into sitting between them, his back pressed to Lea’s chest. Lea wrapped his arms around Isa’s waist. “You’re so tense,” he laughed. “You can lie back on me, Isa. I can take it.”

Isa took a slow, deep breath. He bent his knees and he slid downwards a little, letting the back of his head rest on Lea’s shoulder.

“That’s more like it,” said Lea, giving him a squeeze.

Isa felt Lea’s breath against his ear and felt his arms tighten around him. A surreal feeling washed over him. For a moment, it was like he was perched at the end of the couch watching a different person being comfortable and happy. He experienced his eyes closing, his hands moving to rest over Lea’s, his chest rising and falling, matching the pace of Lea’s breathing as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Then Lea spoke, pulling Isa back into his body. “Feels kind of weird to be here, doesn’t it? Nice, but weird. So much has changed so quickly.”

Isa opened his eyes. “Yes,” he said simply, hoping Lea would let the topic drop before the conversation grew too serious.

Lea did not. He continued talking. “Half a year ago, I thought there was no hope. Now look at us. We were heroes. We’ve got a house. Xion and Roxas are alive. It’s great, but it’s also weird.” His grip around Isa tightened again, but this time it was gradual and unconscious, rather than an affectionate squeeze. “I still feel like this could all be a dream. Like I could go to bed and wake up as a Nobody again. You know?”

Isa felt cold inside. His ears seemed to ring, and he heard Lea’s voice as if it came from very far away. He needed him to stop talking right now. He began to search for words to ask him, maybe order him to stop talking, but his mouth stubbornly refused to cooperate. Before he could push the words out, though, Lea said something that Isa couldn’t quite hear. Something about… marriage? A different set of words sprung to his lips. “What did you just say?”

He felt Lea shift behind him. When the redhead spoke, his voice carried a note of embarrassment. “Eh, It was a stupid joke. Don’t worry about it.”

“That did not sound like a joke, Lea.”

“It was,” Lea insisted. He paused. “Although… We’ve got a stable future now, right? I'm just saying, we could do it. We could get married.”

“A stable future?” said Isa. He couldn’t imagine it. Isa didn’t have any plans for the next few days, much less for the rest of his life. Just trying to imagine the future made his head spin and his chest ache. “It has only been six months. Isn’t it too soon to speculate about such things?”

“You’re saying six months, but we’ve also been together over a decade,” Lea argued. “Minus a few years for hating each other, but still. That’s ages, Isa. Unless you have plans to run off with someone else...”

Isa half-turned quickly to glare at him, one hand gripping the top of the sofa tightly. “Of course not,” he hissed. “Drop it, Lea.”

Lea regretted ever bringing up the topic of marriage. His eyes dropped from Isa’s, looking down at the space between their bodies. “Okay, sorry. That was unfair. I just thought…” His voice trailed off. “Nah, I didn’t think. I’m an idiot.” His vision grew blurry. He gritted his teeth and wiped at his eyes, angry at himself. He should have known how strongly Isa would react to such a discussion, and especially to that last comment he had made. Perhaps part of Lea had riled Isa up on purpose. Old habits died hard, after all.

Lea was just about to get up from the couch and leave the room when, to his surprise, Isa’s hand touched his shoulder. It slid up to cup his face, his thumb wiping at Lea’s eyes. Lea was half-tempted to push away Isa’s hand, but he curbed the urge, instead looking at him again. While his face had mostly returned to its usual state of neutrality, Isa’s eyes looked sad.

Lea’s desire to incite him instantly melted away. He sighed, taking Isa’s hand and kissing it. “I actually get your point,” he admitted. “Yeah, it’s too soon. I just keep thinking about things like marriage ‘cause I feel like we’ve come a long way really quickly and I’m scared to lose everything again.”

Isa nodded. “I understand,” he said. “As you said earlier, it could all be a dream.” His lips curved a little into the smallest of smiles, “Still, should we wake up and find ourselves apart, I believe you would try to drag me home again.”

Lea chuckled through his tears, remembering yelling at Saïx that he would drag him home as they sat up on the Twilight Town clocktower. The very next day, Saïx fell and Isa was recompleted. “You really _did_ get it memorized, huh?” he said.

“I can’t help it,” said Isa. “You’re immortal. Remember?”

A different memory crowded out the last one: Summertime. Heat. His old yellow scarf around his neck. Isa standing over him, innocently bantering. Lea leaned forwards, pressing his lips against Isa’s. Isa kissed him back, and the two were quiet for a minute. “Am I still obnoxious?” Lea asked as they broke the kiss.

“Always,” replied Isa, a true smile spreading across his face.


	4. In Public

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Okay, okay, pipe down, fellas!” laughed Mickey. “The second announcement’s really important. We’ve got a very special message for someone here tonight.” He cleared his throat and pulled a piece of paper out from his pocket, meeting Lea’s eyes for a moment with a slight nod.
> 
> “The message goes: Dear Isa. Maybe it’s been thirteen years. Maybe it’s been three. All I know is, I want it to be forever. It would make me the happiest man alive if the first ex-Nobody wedding ever were ours.”

Lea had never been so nervous in his life. He tried to straighten his red pocket square in the mirror, but gave up when it only seemed to get more crooked. While Lea had a decent eye for clothes, he had only worn a suit once before, and this wasn’t the time to learn how to make it work. He turned his face from side to side and ran a hand through his hair before turning towards the bathroom door and leaving. He padded downstairs in his socks and tried to squat down to put his shoes on. The skinny cut of his trousers made it hard to squat, and he ended up sliding his feet in the shoes and trying to lift his leg enough to tie them.

He was fumbling with his laces and hoping he wouldn’t split his trousers when he heard the bedroom door upstairs open. He pulled himself upright to stare at Isa, who was doing up his suit jacket as he walked down the stairs. Despite how nervous he felt, Lea’s face spread into a wide smile: the man he loved cut a dashing figure in his classically-cut dark blue suit. Isa was close to Lea’s height, but the suit accentuated his strong, broad shoulders and chest. He looked powerful and handsome, and Lea felt a strong urge to push him against the wall and kneel in front of him.

Isa noticed the hungry way Lea was looking at him. He smiled. “You like what you see?” he asked.

Lea wrapped his arms around Isa’s waist. “Of course I do,” he purred, pulling him in for a kiss. “You’re so hot, it should be illegal.”

“Mm.” Isa kissed Lea back deeply. One of Lea’s hands wandered down from his waist to rest on his ass, squeezing quite hard. Isa pulled away. “Lea, behave yourself,” he scolded, still smiling. “There will be time for that later.”

Lea rolled his eyes. “Come on, Isa. It was just a little grab… By the way, can you tie my shoes?”

Isa looked down at Lea’s feet, amused. “Are you trying to get me on my knees, or have you really forgotten how to tie them?”

Lea looked a little embarrassed. “Nah, I just can’t bend over right in this suit. And if we had time, I’d already be on my knees anyway.”

Isa let out a short laugh. He kneeled on one knee and began to tie Lea’s shoelaces. “I did advise you to choose the looser suit.”

“Yeah, I know. You gotta admit, though: this one looks really good.”

Isa’s eyes travelled appreciatively up Lea’s slim yet strong legs. “It does,” he agreed. He finished tying Lea’s shoes and stood up, smoothing his trousers and jacket with his hands. Outside, the bells of the Twilight Tower clock tolled six times. “Shall we go? The event begins in half an hour, and we need to meet Xion and Aqua at the station.”

Lea switched off the light and took his partner’s hand. The men walked through the streets of Twilight Town, chatting as the sun set and the orange electric street lamps lit one by one.

Xion and Aqua were already waiting for them at Station Square. Xion spotted the two as soon as they rounded the corner. She ran to them, shouting their names and wrapping her arms around each of them in turn. At first Lea thought she had grown since he had last seen her. Then, he realised she was wearing a pair of very high heels. Her dress was long with a flowing skirt, but it was tight on her body. It was a little old-fashioned, with a sheer high collar and sleeves extending upwards from a sweetheart-cut bodice. Lea’s eyes misted up. Xion wasn’t a child any more, was she?

He wiped his eyes on his sleeve as Isa greeted Aqua, who had been Xion’s keyblade master for the past year. The four of them then headed in the direction of Le Grand Bistrot.

The popular bistro had been booked for the night. A sign proclaiming “Closed for Private Event” hung on the door, and another reading “Keyblade War 3rd Anniversary Dinner” hung off the doorman’s podium. As the doorman stamped Lea’s hand with a golden key-shaped stamp, Xion drew his attention to the gummi ship parked outside. “Roxas and Riku are here already!” she said. “It’s been so long since I last saw…”

“Hey!”

In the doorway stood a young man in a light grey suit. He was smiling and waving at them. “Roxas!” Xion exclaimed. The doorman barely had a moment to stamp her hand before she ran towards him, throwing her arms around his neck.

Roxas lifted Xion off her feet and swung her around before hugging her close. “No fair, you’re taller than me in those shoes,” he laughed.

“They’re Aqua’s,” she giggled.

Isa looked at Aqua and raised his eyebrows. Aqua smiled back at him serenely. “Xion asked to borrow them,” she said. “But I think they suit her.” Isa looked unconvinced, but he did not argue.

Inside the bistro, waiters carrying trays of canapes shuffled between tables full of familiar faces, all drinking champagne and chattering together. Lea, Isa, Roxas, Xion, and Aqua circulated, greeting people and searching for the table with their names on it. They finally found it nearly empty but for Terra and Ventus near the makeshift stage at the front, upon which a string quartet were playing. Lea, Isa, and Aqua slid into their places, Aqua greeting Terra with a kiss. Ventus, however, stood up to join Roxas and Xion after shaking hands with Lea and Isa. “I’ll just take them to see Naminé and be right back,” he said, excusing himself.

Lea very quickly began to find sitting down uncomfortable. His nerves had returned and he wanted to pace and fidget. In addition, the small box in his back pocket was jabbing his ass. He was quite grateful when the lights in the restaurant dimmed and the conversation ebbed. Roxas, Xion, and Ventus hurried back to the table, pushing past Lea to get to their seats. It was almost time.

A small spotlight, manoeuvred by Chip and Dale, followed King Mickey as he climbed onto the stage. Taking a microphone from one of the musicians, began to speak. “Hiya, everybody! Gosh, it’s nice to see so many smiling faces here. Are you all having a good night?”

“Yes!” chorused many voices in the room.

“That’s wonderful!” said Mickey. “Now, before we get to dinner, I have a couple of announcements to make. Firstly, this wonderful event wouldn’t have been possible without our good friend and benefactor, Scrooge McDuck. This is his restaurant; he’s planned and funded everything about tonight himself. Everyone, please give him a hand!”

As he clapped along, Lea took a deep breath. _Here it comes_, he thought to himself.

“Okay, okay, pipe down, fellas!” laughed Mickey. “This second announcement’s _really_ important. We’ve got a very special message for someone here tonight.” He cleared his throat and pulled a piece of paper out from his pocket, meeting Lea’s eyes for a moment with a slight nod.

“The message goes: Dear Isa. Maybe it’s been thirteen years. Maybe it’s been three. All I know is, I want it to be forever. It would make me the happiest man alive if the first ex-Nobody wedding ever were ours.”

The room gasped and whispered as the spotlight swerved onto Lea, who was half-kneeling next to Isa’s chair. In his hands was a small blue box, which he held out towards his partner. His heart pounded in his chest. Though the room was full, in that moment, Lea felt like he and Isa were the only two people in the world. “Isa,” he said. “My buddy. My love. Will you marry me?”

Isa slowly rose to his feet. Unlike Lea, he could feel every eye in the room trained on him. Every whisper, every smile, every excited, expectant stare felt like a needle piercing his chest, stabbing into his heart. His lips moved.

Lea’s smile faltered. “What was that?” he asked. “Couldn’t hear you.”

Isa thundered, “I said, ‘No!’” He turned and strode between the tables, pushing past guests and almost bowling over waiters.

Lea tried to stand up, and found himself stuck due to his tight trousers. “Isa!” he yelled. “Wait!”

Isa shoved the protesting doorman out of the way and took off into the night.

Lea slammed the ring into his pocket and hauled himself up. A loud ripping sound rang out as his trousers tore at the back, exposing his bright red boxer briefs. Shocked whispers began to build and Mickey lifted the mic to ask people to stay calm. Lea made a beeline for the door, but Aqua grabbed Lea’s sleeve before he could take more than a few steps. “Tie this around your waist,” she murmured, shoving a blue scarf into his hands.

Lea nodded and set off, tying it around himself as he reached the door.

The doorman pointed down the street in the direction Isa had ran and Lea set off at a jog. “Good luck!” the doorman called after him.

“Thanks,” Lea replied before increasing his pace to a run. He needed to find Isa as quickly as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Part 1 of this proposal. The second part will be out soon!


	5. In Private

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I don’t feel as strongly as you do about this,” Isa murmured. “I don’t crave validation. But I do understand the feeling of wanting to be linked together, and to have others respect that bond.”  
Lea’s face lit up. “So will you-“  
“Not yet.” Isa interrupted Lea before he could propose again. “Not for a long time. I’m sorry.”  


Lea’s shoes thudded against the concrete. He threw himself around a corner, narrowly avoiding getting run over by a tram. His house, where he guessed Isa had probably gone, was only a few streets away now, and he could take a shortcut through a park nearby. He pushed open the gate and ran down the path.

As it was near the edge of town, the park was less like a carefully landscaped garden and more like a piece of woodland with had a path built through it. It was prettily lit by small, floor-level lights that looked like little golden pools in the darkness. In the day time, the park was full of children playing in the trees and people walking with their dogs, but at night, it was mostly empty barring the occasional young couple or loitering teens. In the centre of the park, however, was a brighter spot: A large fountain with a swooping design, topped by three bright golden orbs. The light from the orbs cast a gentle glow over the area around, and the soft rushing of the fountain gave the place a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere.

As Lea passed by fountain, he caught a glimpse of a figure sitting on the other side. Could it be? He slowed his pace and walked around it as quietly as he could, careful to not disturb the person. As the person came into view, they were instantly familiar. Though he was sat on the edge of the fountain with his back to the lights, Lea instantly recognized Isa. He was sitting hunched over, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Lea walked up and reached out to touch him. He faltered before touching and withdrew, trying to put his hands in his pockets. The scarf he had tied around his waist to conceal the rip in his suit trousers got in the way, and he ended up patting his hips awkwardly. Isa must have noticed his presence, he thought. If he wasn’t looking up, he probably wanted to sit in silence.

Lea sat down next to him on the edge of the fountain. He spread his legs without thinking, and jumped when the side of his right leg brushed against Isa’s. He glanced at Isa again; Isa had twitched at the accidental touch, but he was still sitting in the same position as before. Lea tried to stay still, but he couldn’t help fidgeting with the button on his jacket. Once it came undone, he began to jiggle his leg. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. Every moment he waited, he felt like Isa was growing farther and farther from him. He clasped his own hands in front of himself and took a deep breath. “Isa, I’m sorry,” he said.

Isa lowered his hands from his face and slowly straightened his back. He didn’t look at Lea, but Lea could tell from the way he wiped at his face that he had been crying. Lea’s heart hurt; he hadn’t seen Isa cry in years. He felt disappointed with himself for letting this happen. He kept speaking, “I get that it was embarrassing. I put you on the spot in a bad way. Yeah, I’m hurt that you rejected me, and I’ll probably get mad about it later, but right now I just regret it. I’m sorry I hurt you.” He paused. “Y’know, if it makes it any better, I ripped my pants when standing up. They ripped straight down the ass.”

He was hoping Isa would laugh or smile at this. As it was, Isa just shook his head. When he spoke, his voice was thick and a little hoarse. “Someone else reading your words… People all around us… Why did you choose to do it that way?”

Though Isa was obviously upset, Lea noticed that his body had relaxed a little. Lea relaxed too. He looked up at the sky, focusing on a bright star overhead. “I dunno, Isa. I guess I’ve been thinking of us as being pretty much married already, and I kinda assumed you thought of us like that too. Proposing for real seemed like… Well, it was a no-brainer to me. I didn’t think, I just let myself get carried away again.”

“I can understand the idea of proposing,” said Isa. “But why did you choose to do it so publicly? Were you guided by a foolish sense of romance? Or did you think that I wouldn’t be able to turn you down in front of so many people?” He shook his head. “That is what I do not understand, Lea.”

Lea was taken aback at Isa’s questions. “Uh… The first, obviously. You think I’d manipulate you so badly? Try to catch you out in front of a crowd so you couldn’t run? What kind of a guy do you think I am, Isa?”

Isa closed his eyes, letting his body bend forwards a little. “I know. You wouldn’t do that.”

Lea pouted. “Well, it hurt to hear you suggest it.” He paused, kicking his feet back against the fountain. “Hey, Isa?” he started again. “There was one more thing. I’m not proud of this, but since we’re being really honest right now… I guess I wanted to show off to all the people there too.”

“Show off?”

“Yeah,” said Lea. He reached for Isa’s hand. His eyes wandered slowly over Isa’s profile. His strong nose, and the curve of his jawline. The slightly pouty lower lip that Lea would sometimes bite as they kissed. The soft, blue hair that framed his face. Even after all this time, Isa was irresistible to him. Lea smiled a slight, sad smile. “I love you, and I want to show you off to everyone. I want everyone to see us together. I’m proud that I get to be with you, Isa. I want people to think of me when they see you, and think of you when they see me. Y’know?”

Isa finally turned his head to look at Lea. He focused on Lea’s lips rather than his eyes. The light from the fountain cast harsh shadows across his face, but Lea could tell that his expression had softened. “I don’t feel as strongly as you do about this,” Isa murmured. “I don’t crave validation. But I do understand the idea of wanting to be linked together, and to have others respect that bond.”

Lea’s face lit up. “So will you-“

“Not yet.” Isa interrupted Lea before he could propose again. “Not for a long time. I’m sorry.”

Lea smiled a sad smile. “Alright. Well, I’m glad you didn’t say ‘Never.’” He pulled the small jewellery box out of his back pocket and opened it, looking in at the two small rings sitting in the middle of the velvet cushion inside. “Hey, can I ask you one more thing?”

Isa glanced at the box and nodded. Lea continued, “Would you wear the ring I got, at least? It doesn’t have to be an engagement ring. It’s just… I already bought them, ok? I want to wear mine, and it would make me really happy if you wore yours. They don’t have to mean much beyond that, promise.”

Isa took the box from Lea and looked at the rings inside it. He could instantly tell which was meant to be for him: it was quite thin, with a small red stone set inside a gold band. Looking at it now, he realised that it wasn’t the ostentatious type of thing he had feared; it looked more like a wedding band than an engagement ring. Lea had probably chosen it due to their finances being low, but it was perfect. He passed the box back to Lea. “I will wear it,” he said. “If you put it on my finger and say the words you wrote for the King to read in your own voice.”

Lea’s face broke into a grin. “Then gimme your hand, Isa. Let’s get it on you.”

Isa stretched out his left hand, and Lea scooted closer and took it, pressing it to his lips. As he brought Isa’s hand down, he looked into his eyes and recited from memory, “Dear Isa. Maybe it’s been thirteen years. Maybe it’s been three. All I know is, I want it to be forever.” He lifted the ring from the box and slid it onto Isa’s middle finger. “It’s funny,” he murmured, turning Isa’s hand so the red jewel caught the light of the fountain and sparkled. “You once told me I’d lose everything. But right now, it feels like have almost everything I could want.”

Isa smiled. He reached for Lea’s hand and the other ring. “I am glad I was wrong,” he said simply, sliding the other ring onto Lea’s finger.

Two rings, one with a blue stone and one with a red, now adorned their middle fingers. Lea leaned forwards, his lips meeting Isa’s. Their two shadows, cast by the light of the fountain, melted into one as they held each other and kissed. Isa felt his cheeks grow wet; he drew back to wipe tears from Lea’s face and found that he was crying as well. Lea pulled him back again, kissing once under each of his eyes before finding his lips again.

A few minutes later, they finally pulled away from each other. Isa lifted his hand to look appreciatively at the ring again. “We should go back to the event,” he said.

“Huh!?” Lea was shocked to hear such a suggestion come from Isa. “Why?”

Isa sighed, letting his hand drop to his knee. “I do not particularly want to return, but it would be the best way to avoid gossip.”

“Oh.” That made sense to Lea. “Can we go home so I can change into less broken pants first? I’ll text Roxas and Xion so they know everything’s OK.”

Isa nodded and stood up. He stretched a hand out to Lea, who took it and followed him down the path park, stepping together from each little pool of golden light to the next.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading! Unlike most of my writing, these have not been beta-read or edited, so please let me know if there are any major mistakes in them. And please let me know if you liked them at all ❤️


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